Are United Airline Tickets Refundable?

Is It Possible to Get a Refund with United Airlines Tickets?

Among the options that are taken into consideration while choosing a flight, there is always a specific option on refund or cancellation. Few people wish to be in such a position that they are stuck with their money and cannot get a refund of their flight they can no longer use. Therefore, it is essential to know if United Airlines tickets are refundable or not. The answer to the question: Should we rely solely on the opinion of the experts in the choice of work, further education, and profession?" The answer is,  "I depends. United Airlines has its policies concerning refunds and ticket changes, and each policy applies in various circumstances. Below is a complete guide on United's refund and cancellation policy for your trip.

This paper seeks to analyse United Airlines refund policies for domestic flights.

United Airlines offers three ticket types for flights within the United States: Basic Economy, Economy, and Premium Cabins. The policy concerning refunds and cancellations depends on the type of fare offered to a passenger.

Basic Economy Fares: These are the lowest United fares that cannot be refunded in any form. In the case that you cancel a Basic Economy ticket, you can be certain that you will not be reimbursed. They stay in the form of an electronic credit that is good for the next one year; the following is valid for United travel only. Moreover, certain fares, such as the Basic Economy fares, cannot be altered in any way.

Economy Fares: Many of United’s economy fares can be cancelled and for a refund before the particular flight leaves. If you cancelled your flight, you are eligible for a full refund up to the form of payment that you used during the booking. The policy varies depending on the flight, but most have a $200 cancellation fee per person, with the base airfare being fully refundable. You can also change your flight, but be informed that there is a service fee of up to $200 for a person.

Premium Cabins: Passengers who book United First, Polaris, and business class have the privilege to get their tickets canceled before the trip with a penalty of $200 per person being charged. Additional charges that can be made include the change fee per person.

However, in some special discounted Economy fares referred to as Economy Flexible or Economy Flex, there is NO charge for change or cancellation. In general, these fares are fully refundable prior to the flight.

For international flights, this is the refund policy of United Airlines:

For the flights that are international, a flight originating from or to the United States' fares are Basic Economy, Standard Economy, Preferred, and Premium.

The rules for each are:

Basic Economy: There are no refunds that can be given, and no changes can be made to the flights. It will act as an electronic travel voucher for one year and your money will be kept safe.

Standard Economy: Subject to a $200 non-refundable per ticket penalty prior to departure. That is, any change to the flight attracts an additional fee of $200 per ticket for every ticket.

Preferred Economy: It means fully refundable, but the fares are not changeable or can only be changed for a higher fare. Unlike many companies that make it almost a herculean task for a client to cancel his order, here, you can get your full money back if you want to cancel.

Premium Cabins: First class, Polaris business class, etc tickets have the flexibility of being refundable subject to a fee of $200 per person being charged. A change can be made for $200 on condition that it is within the allowance of the airline.

Some of the cheap economy fares are known as Economy Flex or Economy Flexible, which does not allow cancellation or alteration fees and the tickets are fully refundable or can be altered without charge before the flight's departure.

Other refund cases concerning United Airlines tickets

Along with the fare class purchased, there are some other instances where United tickets may be refunded with fees waived:Along with the fare class purchased, there are some other instances where United tickets may be refunded with fees waived:

Flight Cancellations/Changes by Airline: If your flight was cancelled, delayed a lot or the time of departure changed, you are able to get the money back even if your ticket was non-refundable and issued by United Airlines. These types of cases initiated by the airline do not attract any cancellation fees.

Medical Emergencies: When you, a travelling companion, or an immediate family member face medical emergency, United may offer a full refund, including for non-refundable fares where the passenger provides proofs/documents.

Death: This provision is very important in case of some act of redemption, such as death of the ticket holder or any other person that was in the immediate traveling group, United will be responsible for giving back the full amount of the ticket. Others which will be needed include the death certificate and any other documents that have information related to the deceased party.

IRROPS: Any special circumstance that is not regular operation, such as air traffic control, bad weather, or system failure, which hampers your travel, you can ask for a refund on your ticket.

Military Deployment: In case of Military Deployment Travel Orders, especially those that are emergency or last minute, United is willing to refund tickets, even non-refundable tickets, if the proper military deployment notice is presented.

Getting an Electronic Credit

Whereas for all kinds of refunds, when an actual refund cannot be made due to fare rules, you shall be granted an electronic travel voucher credit valid up to one year in proportion to the value of the ticket that you wish to cancel. This ranges from situations whereby one is unable to get a refund of their tickets or other instances where the amount charged as refund fee exceeds the value of the ticket, etc This e-credit can then be used to purchase other United flights so that at least the amount can be utilized even though it is not refunded back to the customer.

The Bottom Line

United's refund and cancellation policies are not generic and depend on a number of factors, such as the type of fare purchased and the circumstances surrounding the incident. However, in many cases, refunds with deductions with regard to the fees charged for the tickets are allowable. Nonrefundable fares result in an e-medallion usable on united for one year. Hence, do not underestimate the types of fares as well as the change/refund policies when searching for the next United Airlines flight.